Angel in a Human's Body
by ForensicFreak55
Summary: Sam, Cas, and Dean are tasked with saving an unusual girl. Some Destiel. Some Sam/OC. Character death.
1. Chapter 1

**Mysteries**

Sam cried out in pain as his back slammed against a tree. He coughed and blinked, startled. The wind had been knocked out of him and he wheezed as he tried to get some air back into his lungs, feeling broken ribs pushing against his them as he breathed. Sam stood up slowly and watched as Dean, Cas, and the girl they were trying to save fought the demon, rather unsuccessfully. Sam still didn't understand why the demon was trying to attack this particular girl, nor why Castiel had said that it was "of utmost importance" to protect her. They traveled from Indiana to Massachusetts in record time to save this girl on nothing but the words of an angel. Hell, they didn't even know her name. Nevertheless, Sam rushed back into the fight.

By the time the battle was over and the demon was dead, Dean had a bloody, possibly broken, nose and a few cuts and bruises, Sam had several broken ribs and a few deep cuts, Cas was relatively unharmed aside from a black eye and a few cuts, and the girl was unconscious from slamming her head into a tree and lost a lot of blood due to a large gash in her forearm that was inflicted by the demon as he was trying to sacrifice her. Cas was carrying the unconscious girl as they made their way through the woods and back to the Impala.

"So, who the hell is this girl, Cas?" Dean asked.

"Um… Well, I'm not quite sure," Cas replied, studying the girl's features. She had fiery red hair that was cut to her shoulders and pulled back into a ponytail. She was incredibly pale, although a large part of that could have been due to blood loss. There was silence for a while, only the sounds of crickets and early autumn leaves crunching under their feet.

"Well why is she so special?" Sam tried, pushing a low hanging branch out of his way.

"She's a witch," Dean grumbled. "I noticed an altar when we visited her house. I don't understand why we saved her."

"She may be using her powers for witchcraft, but I don't think she would-or could-harm anyone. She has a certain, almost divine strength about her that I've never felt in a witch. And look," Cas said, nodding to the arm with the gash that was resting on her chest. A silver bracelet with a single round charm glinted in the moonlight that filtered through the trees. Sam and Dean could just make out what looked like a tree formed by seven swords on the charm.

"So, she's got a bracelet. So what?" Dean asked.

"That's not just any bracelet Dean," Cas explained. "That's the symbol of the seven swords of the Archangels. Humans consider it a symbol of divine love, strength, and protection."

"Woah woah woah. Slow down. There are _seven_ Archangels?" Sam questioned.

"No, of course not. But some humans seem to think that there are. The point is, she has to believe in some form of God-based religion, or at least angels, to wear that bracelet," Castiel pointed out.

The trees slowly became less dense until they could make out the Impala through them. They continued making their way to the car and when they finally got to the parking lot where the Impala was, they all stopped and had to figure out what to do next.

"Where should we go? We need to take her with us. She won't survive long with this gash if we don't," Cas said.

"Well we can't take her to our motel. I still don't trust her. What if she betrays us?" Dean asked.

"Well then where-" Cas started.

"Why don't we just bring her back to her place?" Sam interjected. Cas and Dean agreed that that would be the best thing to do.

"Just don't get blood on the upholstery or I'll kill you," Dean warned as everyone got into the Impala and Castiel awkwardly laid the girl's head on his leg in the back seat.

"He means it," Sam said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a Story**

When they got to the girl's house, Cas laid her down in her bed, sat down next to her and tried healing her. He noticed, however, that even before he had started, the gash on her arm was much more healed than it should have been. He healed her rather quickly, in a few fractions of a second as opposed to the few seconds that it normally took, and then sat there waiting for her to wake up. Castiel was confused because he felt a strange connection to her, but couldn't place it.

When the girl finally awoke, she awoke with a start, shouting and confused. Her shouting drew Sam and Dean upstairs and into her room before Cas even had the chance to calm her down. Sam opened the door and he and Dean slowly entered the room as the girl was calming down and regaining her senses. She was standing up next to the bed and Castiel had his hands gently on her shoulders.

"Are you alright now?" Cas asked. The girl nodded and Castiel let go of her shoulders and stepped back.

"So, we never got to know your name," Sam said quietly. "Would you mind telling us what it is?"

The girl jumped slightly at the sound of Sam's voice and turned to face him. "My name is Erela. What are your names?" The guys said their names in turn and she nodded after each one. "Thank you for saving me, but I really don't need your help anymore," she said.

"Wait. Excuse me? We save your ass from a demon without even knowing why you needed our help in the first place and you think that you can just tell us that you don't need our help anymore?! What if more demons come to get you? You can't fight _at all_. You'd be completely screwed! You'd be dead. Or sacrificed," Dean exclaimed angrily.

"Fine. Stay if you like. I don't care either way. Demons have been after me my whole life and I don't know why, so if you want to help me solve that or the reason why I can heal people and move shit with my mind and glow and kinda control the weather, then by all means, stay. Just don't eat all of my food!" Erela shouted as Dean stormed out. Cas noticed that she was glowing slightly and that some of her color had returned.

Dean got about halfway down the stairs before he fully processed what she had said. He ran back up the stairs and into the room. "Wait, what?" he asked.

"Yeah. Ditto," Sam said.

"Well, I think I might be able to answer both of those questions," Castiel said calmly. Erela whirled on him with hope in her blue-green eyes. "I just need to test one thing first," he continued, closing the small gap between them. Erela gasped and tried to back up, but Cas wrapped his arm around her waist. Sam looked from them to Dean, who almost looked jealous, and then back to them.

"Castiel, are you going to kiss me?" she asked incredulously. Cas merely nodded and pressed his lips to hers, pushing some of his grace into the kiss. Erela's body reacted instantly, pushing some of her glowing energy into the kiss as well. She wondered to herself in a fleeting thought how an angel, who she was pretty sure was a virgin, could kiss so well. As Cas tried to break the kiss to explain to Sam and Dean what was going on, Erela pushed her body against his and deepened the kiss. Reacting to her energy swirling within and around him, Castiel picked Erela up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and twirled her fingers around in his hair. Erela grabbed one of Cas' wings roughly and he grunted, surprised that she could see and feel them. To Sam and Dean, it just looked like she was grabbing at air. Cas walked over to the bed and they both fell into it, with Cas on top.

As that happened, Sam and Dean, who were still standing there watching and who had utterly confused expressions on their faces, felt the air pop in the room and the window flew open in a gust of wind. It felt like an explosion had gone off in the middle of a tornado and it was all the guys could do to stay on their feet. Simultaneously, the lights in the room started flickering and getting so bright that the brothers thought that they were going to burst. It took Dean yelling "What are you guys gonna do, have sex while we're watching?!" to get Cas and Erela to snap out of it and break the kiss. Cas rolled off of Erela and they were both panting heavily.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?!" Sam asked.

"Well, I answered those questions," Castiel panted.

"Yeah, and?" Dean said.

"And Erela here is an angel," Cas explained, sitting up on the bed. "That was born into a human's body. She didn't fall because she still has her grace, as you guys just saw. But what I can't figure out is _why_ she was born into a human's body. I heard rumors in Heaven of something like this happening to see if that could be the 'future of angels' or something like that, but…" he trailed off.

"But you thought it was just a story," Erela finished, sitting up.

"Exactly."


	3. Chapter 3

**Genderbender**

Erela, Sam, and Dean were awakened early the next morning by a girlish yelp coming from where Cas was sleeping/meditating/watching T.V. on the couch in the living room. They all ran into the living room in their pajamas to see what happened and were all shocked to see that there was a girl sitting in Castiel's place, in his clothes. It took them a second to realize what exactly had happened.

"Cas, you're a girl!" Dean exclaimed, although he had previously wondered what Cas would look like as a girl. Erela giggled.

"I don't understand. Jimmy is going to hate me for this. But I just don't understand. How did this happen?" Cas mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Maybe it was the demon that did it," Erela suggested.

"A genderbend demon?" Sam asked. "That's new."

"But why did it only affect me?" Cas said.

"Well… You were the only one who had skin-to-skin contact with it," Erela pointed out. "I mean, it grabbed me a couple times, but it only grabbed at my clothes."

"True, but what could have caused this? Magic?" Sam asked. Everyone shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure we could figure it out if we do some research. And if not, I'm sure it'll go away in a few days. Right?" Dean said, tearing his eyes off of Cas to turn and look at Sam. "Right?!"

"Uh… Sure Dean," Sam said, sounding rather unsure.

"Hey, at least you make a pretty hot girl," Erela commented. The guys and Cas looked at her like she was crazy. "What, you were all thinking it! Especially Dean…"

"What?! No I was not! I'm not- I don't- It's _Cas_ for shit's sake! Just 'cause he's a girl doesn't change anything!" Dean sputtered.

"Uh-huh," Erela mumbled sarcastically. "Sure." She looked at Cas, who was staring at her own breasts. "Cas!"

"What?" she asked. "This is strange. I'm not used to having this form."

"Yeah. Okay," Erela said and walked into the kitchen to get some food. Sam followed her. Erela hunted through the fridge and the cabinets until she found some cereal that she wanted to eat.

"So you're an angel born into a human's body…" Sam said as Erela poured the cereal and some milk into a bowl and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yup. So it would seem," Erela replied.

"How does that work? I mean, how is it any different than Cas?" he asked, pouring himself some cereal and sitting down across from her. "It's just hard for me to wrap my head around."

"Well, from what I understand, Cas is in a vessel. My body isn't a vessel. I've never been possessed. I was just born like this. Cas also has full use of his powers. I'm pretty sure I don't, especially considering the fact that he has a greater range of powers than me," she explained, munching away on cereal. "Oh, also I need to do human things like eat and sleep and… other… human things, whereas Castiel doesn't."

"Other human things…?" Sam asked.

"Yeah… You know… Things. Urges." Erela mumbled, staring at her cereal.

"Oh!" Sam said, finally getting it and blushing.

They finished their cereal in silence, listening to the drone of the T.V. in the living room. Sam put his empty bowl in the sink and washed his hands. He turned around and jumped because he was face-to-face with Erela.

"What are you doing?" Sam muttered.

"This," Erela said, standing on her tip toes and gently brushing her lips against Sam's. Just as she started to pull away, Sam pushed his hand into her hair and pulled her into him, kissing Erela again. She leaned into him, pressing her body against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Sam broke the kiss and both of them gasped for air. "Let's take this upstairs," Erela mumbled.

"Hmm… Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

**A Date**

They quietly made their way upstairs, sneaking around Dean who was sitting on the recliner doing some research and Cas who was sitting on the couch, watching T.V. The moment they got into Erela's room and closed the door, they continued their passionate, almost frantic kissing. Erela pushed Sam against the door and grinded her hips against him while biting his lower lip. There was no mistaking what she wanted and his slight hard-on gave him away as well, but Sam was slightly hesitant as he had never had sex with a girl without getting to know her first. Erela sensed this hesitation and stepped back a bit.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking up into his deep brown eyes.

"Well, I've never… I usually get to know someone better first before I…" Sam trailed off.

"Oh, well if you don't want to, we don't have to," Erela said, letting a small amount of disappointment leak into her voice.

"No, I mean, it's OK. I want to. I _really_ want to. This is just strange to me, is all," Sam admitted, pulling Erela into him again.

"We can go out first, if you want," Erela replied, looking up at Sam.

"Yeah, if you want," Sam said.

"Okay, cool." Erela backed up from Sam and pulled off her pajama shirt. She stood there for a moment, looking around her room while Sam stared at her, confused. "What? I'm looking for a shirt."

"But you're not wearing a bra."

"Yeah, so? I don't wear bras to bed. They're uncomfortable. They suck. If it was socially acceptable, I wouldn't wear them at all," Erela explained, walking over to her dresser. She opened one of her drawers and pulled out a black bra and put it on. She then opened another drawer and pulled out a plain black tshirt and put that on. "Now I need pants," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Hey, wait," Sam said, grabbing Erela's wrist and making her jump. He gently turned her to face him and pulled her shirt up to her belly button. He stroked a clump of white, straight scars on her hip and looked at her questioningly. She flinched and backed away automatically, causing Sam to notice the smaller, lighter scars on her wrists. He stared at those for a moment and Erela sank to the floor and brought her knees up to her chest.

"I had a hard time as a teenager," she whispered hoarsely. Sam crouched down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him. He was so warm and she felt so safe.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Sam whispered into her hair. He rubbed her back, and as he did, he felt a small lump on each of her shoulder blades. He was worried for a moment, until he realized that those lumps might be her wings.

"Anyways, I need pants," Erela said, rather suddenly, roughly wiping her eyes with the heels of her hands. Sam let go of her shoulders and stood up. He helped Erela up and she smiled at him before going over to her closet and pulling out a pair of skinny jeans.

"I'm gonna go change," Sam told Erela as he opened her bedroom door and walked out. He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs. Erela finished changing, grabbed her leather coat, and went downstairs as well. She found Dean sitting on the recliner and Cas sitting on the couch, as they had been before. However, she noticed that they were both blushing slightly. She shrugged and sat down next to Cas.

"Here Cas, I brought you down some clothes. I figured that they might be a better fit than the clothes you're wearing," Erela said, putting a folded up set of clothes on the coffee table. Cas nodded, his attention on the television.

"Your wings are quite beautiful," Castiel mumbled, rather suddenly, staring at Erela's back. "They're almost silver."

"Huh?" she replied, confused. Cas reached out and ran her hand gently over Erela's wing, causing Erela to shiver. Erela hadn't even noticed that she had had wings until that moment.

"What the hell?" Sam asked, walking in on Cas stroking Erela's wing. He was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt. To him and Dean, it just looked like Cas was touching air.

"You're an angel. You have wings," Cas said simply, as if that explained everything.

"But how come I couldn't see them before? How come you couldn't see them before?" Erela asked, looking from Cas to Sam to Dean for answers.

"The hell if I know," Dean said, taking a swig from the half-empty beer bottle on the table next to him. "I can't even see your wings now and I'm sure Sammy can't either." Sam just shook his head.

"It's only noon. Isn't this a little early to be drinking, Dean?" Erela asked, partly rhetorically. Dean grunted in response.

"You couldn't see them before because you didn't know they existed. You didn't know you were an angel, you just thought you were different. Now that you know, you seemed to have manifested them," Castiel explained. Erela simply nodded, letting that sink in.

"Well, we were just leaving," Sam said after a moment, breaking the silence. Erela stood up off the couch.

"Right. Yeah, Sam and I are going to go out for a few. Hours," she explained as they made their way to the door. "If you guys leave, don't forget to lock up. There's an extra key on the hook over here and I would prefer if you didn't pick the lock again." She opened the door and they both put their coats on. They went outside into the slightly cool fall air and shut the door behind them. Suddenly, Erela opened the door again. "And don't trash the house while we're gone."


	5. Chapter 5

**Feelings**

"So Dean," Cas said after the show she was watching had ended. It had been about an hour and a half since Sam and Erela left.

"Mmhmm?" Dean replied.

"Have you figured out why I'm like this yet?" Castiel asked.

"Er… No. I can't find anything on demons or spells or anything that changes someone's gender so suddenly. You do make a hot girl though," Dean admitted.

"I don't understand, Dean. My temperature hasn't risen."

"I know Cas, it's a figure of speech. It means you're attractive." There was a small hint of annoyance in Dean's voice. "Do you want to come sit over here again? You seemed to like that."

"Yes, I would like that," Cas replied, going and sitting in Dean's lap on the recliner just like she had before Sam and Erela had come downstairs and interrupted them. Cas didn't want to say that she was scared, so much that she was worried about Jimmy's body. Sitting like this, feeling Dean's warmth against her made Cas feel that tingly feeling in her stomach that she always felt when Dean was around. The angel had felt that way for the last few months, especially since that time she had been cut off from Heaven a while ago. Castiel had started feeling the strongest of human emotions at that time; anger, sadness, happiness, and love being the ones that he had felt the most. The strongest of those feelings still lingered.

"I feel connected to you, Dean," the angel said after a while. Cas figured that, since Dean was obviously more physically attracted to this form, she may as well tell him now.

"Yeah, I know. It's 'cause you pulled me out of Hell. You've said that before."

"No. I mean yes, that is part of it. But it's something deeper than that. This feeling has developed in the last few months or so. It's a feeling in my gut and in my chest and in my head all at the same time," Cas said. Dean feared what his friend would say next, not because he didn't understand what Cas was feeling, but because Dean felt the same way, but didn't want to say it. Castiel's female form made it even more difficult for Dean to try to suppress his feelings for the angel. He couldn't find excuses anymore.

"Cas, I…" Dean swallowed, but his mouth was dry. He downed the rest of his beer and then continued. "I just… I feel the same way."

"But Dean, what is this… I don't understand. It feels so _human_."

"Yeah, Cas. I guess it is pretty human," Dean laughed. "It's love, I guess." He almost choked on the word. Castiel looked up at him, confused blue eyes meeting sparkling green ones. Dean shook his head and laughed again. "This is way too sappy for me," Dean grumbled.

Cas reached up and touched Dean's face gently, feeling the contours of it and the muscles underneath. Dean realized that, despite how much he just wanted to have his way with Cas right now, he also wanted to go slowly so that the angel could have a separate memory for every important moment. So, for now, he just decided to kiss Cas. Dean leaned down and pressed his lips to his angel's nose. Castiel looked up at Dean and blushed. A smile spread across the angel's face, the first true smile that he'd seen from Cas in a while. Dean leaned down and pressed his lips gently against Castiel's. Cas stiffened and then kissed Dean back. It was a soft, caring kiss, just the way a first kiss should be. They broke apart after a while and Cas rested her head against Dean's chest.

"That was nice, Dean. I liked that," Cas mumbled after a while. Dean simply smiled and kissed the top of the angel's head.

They fell asleep like that and didn't wake up until Sam and Erela walked through the front door two hours later and tossed their coats on the floor. They were slightly drunk and much too interested in each other to notice Dean and Cas cuddling in the recliner. Castiel and Dean glanced at them as they passed by on their way upstairs. They both noticed that Erela was practically glowing because of her grace and even Dean could see her wings, although neither of them were sure if it was from the alcohol or just because she was happy. After maybe 15 minutes of watching T.V., Cas and Dean began to hear moaning coming from upstairs.

"Way to go, Sammy," Dean said, smirking. Cas looked at Dean confused.

"Why are those noises a good thing?" the angel asked.

"Well… Um…" Dean cleared his throat and tried again. "Well, Cas. They're… Uh… Having sex… And that's a good thing." Castiel just nodded and shifted slightly in the chair to get more comfortable. "Do you want to go on a run to get food with me? We should give them some privacy." Dean said after looking at his watch. It was almost four and he was hungry.

"Sure!" Cas replied, standing up off of Dean. Dean stood up and hunted around the room for his keys and coat. When he found them, he handed Cas Erela's coat and scrawled a quick note which he left on the coffee table. Castiel remembered what Erela had said about the house key earlier and grabbed it off the hook, locking the door behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Making Love to an Angel**

Sam and Erela got upstairs, into Erela's room and shut and locked the door behind them. Erela pushed Sam against the door and kissed him passionately. They grabbed at every part of each other they could get ahold of. Erela noticed at one point that she was glowing because of her grace and wasn't sure if she was making Sam do this or he was doing it himself. Frankly, she didn't really care, but she asked anyways.

"So you really want to do this, huh?" Erela whispered against Sam's lips as he stroked her wings.

"Yes," Sam replied simply, kissing Erela and pulling her into him.

She slipped her hands up the front of his shirt, feeling the muscles of his chest and tracing her fingers over some of his scars, giving him goosebumps. Sam slipped his hands up the back of Erela's shirt and unhooked her bra, pulling the straps down her arms. Sam tossed the bra into a corner and started caressing Erela's breasts and playing with her wings. Erela grinded her hips against Sam and he moaned softly. Erela then backed up and pulled off her shirt, tossing it away. Sam stared, just as he had that morning. Erela stood just out of Sam's reach and wrapped her wings around herself, smirking.

"Come and get me, baby," Erela teased. Before she could react, Sam had crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, wings and all. He kissed her neck and her collarbone, slipping his hands onto the back pockets of Erela's jeans. Sam reached between them while they were kissing and unbuttoned Erela's pants. He slid the skin-tight denim down her legs and stepped back as she unwrapped her wings from her torso. Sam admired the view and looked Erela up and down before she tossed her pants into the corner of her room and laid down on the bed with her hands behind her head and her legs crossed.

"Come here, Sammy. Show me exactly how much you want to do this," she said with a smirk. Sam stripped down to his boxers and joined her on the bed. He straddled her and sat there for a moment, looking her up and down as he lazily stroked her wing. She watched him carefully, looking him up and down as well. He noticed that she barely had a scar on her aside from the ones he had pointed out earlier, probably due to her healing powers, whereas he was covered in scars and was slightly embarrassed by that fact. Erela reached up and stroked one of the longer scars on his chest, sending shivers up his spine. She moved her hand up to his anti-possession tattoo and pushed some grace into it, causing it to tingle and glow slightly. Suddenly, she grabbed Sam by the shoulders and pulled him down on top of her, all the while kissing him passionately. Sam pinned her arms to the bed and she squirmed playfully, rubbing herself against him. She nibbled at his earlobe and the base of his neck, causing him to let out little hums of pleasure. Sam kissed his way down Erela's neck to her breasts and began kissing and licking and sucking them, causing her to gasp and arch her back, her wings twitching slightly.

Erela rolled off of Sam, panting. Sam was panting as well. They laid there for a moment, side by side, gathering the energy to move. It was Erela who moved first, rolling onto her side and scooting closer to Sam. She rested her head over the tattoo on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. He stroked her hair absently.

"Are you hungry?" she asked him after a long while, feeling her stomach growl slightly. All of that exercise had worked off the alcohol and food in both their bodies.

"Yeah, I guess," he responded after a moment, kissing the top of Erela's head. She looked up at him after kissing his chest a few times. His hair was a mess and his face was still slightly flushed.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Erela said, sitting up. Sam frowned slightly as she moved; the parts of him that she had been touching were suddenly cold. "You better not be asleep when I get back," she warned, pulling on her panties and the shirt that Sam had been wearing earlier.

"Mmhmm," he replied. She knew it was an empty promise, but went downstairs anyways. When she did, she found that Dean and Cas were nowhere to be seen. She wondered where they had gone until she found a messy note on the coffee table.

**_Erela and Sam,_**

**_ Ran out with Cas to get food around 4. Figured we should give you some privacy._**

**_ Dean_**

**_ P.S. Cas borrowed Erela's leather coat. I'll make sure he/she(?) doesn't ruin it._**

Erela smiled and made her way into the kitchen. At least Dean was considerate. She pulled a bag of chips and some cookies out of the cupboard and went back upstairs. When she opened her door, she found Sam sitting up on her bed.

"Hey, you're not asleep!" she exclaimed, surprised, setting the food down on the bed and taking off the clothes she had on. Sam smiled at her and opened his arms. Erela nestled into them and he kissed her on the head once again.

"Your wings are gone, you know," he said.

"No they're not, they're—Oh. You can't see them." Sam shook his head. "Well I don't know how to… Turn them on and off," Erela explained. "I'll have to ask Cas about that." She closed her eyes, feeling Sam's warmth envelop her. Eventually she drifted off to sleep and Sam laid her down with her head on the pillow. He moved the food off of the bed and laid down beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist.


	7. Chapter 7

**Flying Lessons**

Erela woke up the next morning and Sam wasn't there. His side of the bed was cold. She put on jeans and a t-shirt and walked downstairs. Sam, Cas, and Dean were all gone.

"Good to know how much I meant to you guys," Erela grumbled to herself as she walked into the kitchen. There was a note on the table next to the clothes that she had lent Cas.

**_Erela,_**

**_ Dean and I have a case a few miles away. We should be back in a few days. Cas got called to do something else. He'll probably come back eventually. If you really need help, just pray for him. It usually works for Dean. Also, Cas is a guy again and he says thank you for the clothes._**

**_ Sam_**

Erela stretched out her wings and cracked her neck.

"Breakfast time," she said as her stomach growled. She searched through the cupboards and the refrigerator. She saw a container of apple pie in the refrigerator. It was half eaten. Erela didn't remember that being there before, but grabbed it anyway.

"Dean wouldn't like it if you ate his pie," Castiel said from behind her. Erela jumped and banged her head against the top of the fridge.

"Ow! Damn Cas. Don't sneak up on me like that," Erela scolded, holding where she bumped her head.

"I apologize," he replied. Erela set the pie down on the counter and turned to Cas.

"I need your help. I don't know what to do with my wings. Can I fly? How do I make it so that people can or can't see them?"

****"Well, when you and Sam got home last night, even Dean could see your wings. So it is possible that when you are relaxed or happy, people can see them. Your wings are more corporeal than mine, so you have different rules as far as that is concerned. Sam and Dean have never seen my wings because mine are manifestations of my grace, whereas you have lumps on your shoulder blades where your wings start. Theoretically, you could have to cut holes in your shirts for your wings if they do become fully corporeal."

"Okay… So can I fly?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to attempt it," Cas said.

"Yes Cas! Yes it would! I can _die_!" Erela shouted, frustrated at the angel.

"That is true. You _could_ die."

Erela sighed. "Yeah, ok. I'll go. But I need food, so let's get a hamburger or something first. And we're taking my car."

"You sound like Dean. He's always hungry," Cas replied. "And he always insists that we take the car."

Erela took a bite of her egg and bacon cheeseburger as she parked her Subaru Outback in the parking lot of the Freetown/Fall River State Forest. Erela had been surprised that Cas had agreed to go here with her and that he had agreed to ride in the car. There was a big cliff in the State Forest that they could use to practice flying. Of course, there were rumors of ghosts, serial killers, Satanists, and puckwudgies in those woods, especially on that cliff. However, it was broad daylight, so Erela was pretty sure they weren't going to find any of those things. They hiked their way out to the cliff, a 90 foot drop straight down into water. It was usually a popular spot for cliff jumpers, but fortunately they hadn't been out in about a month because it hadn't been warm enough. It was almost October.

"This whole forest is supposed to be haunted, you know," Erela said. "I'm surprised that Dean and Sam haven't had more cases up this way. By the way, what's the case they're on now?"

Castiel took off his trench coat and, folding it neatly, set it on the ground. "Shapeshifters."

"Huh. Cool," Erela replied. There was an awkward pause and she stepped in to fill it. "So how do you want to do this?"

"Well…" Cas extended his inky black wings. His wingspan was at least 10 feet. He turned to face Erela, collapsing his wings again. "We could fall off the cliff and then fly."

"You've never done this teaching thing before, have you?" Erela asked, stretching her wings.

"No, I haven't."

"Sweet. Let's do this," Erela smiled, running and jumping off the cliff. She extended her wings as she fell, gliding to the other side of the pond. "That was bad planning. Now I can't get back," she called to Castiel. The angel on the cliff flapped his wings a few times and his feet lifted off the ground.

"Like this," he called down to her. Erela tried it, flapping her wings in large strokes. She could feel muscles in her back being used that had never been used before. She slowly, laboriously made her way back up the cliff face and landed next to Castiel. She sat down, panting.

"Damn Cas, that's hard work." Cas just shrugged. "It was fun, though."

"Well, they say that the best things don't come easily, Erela," Cas responded.

"Wow Cas. Aren't you a walking fortune cookie?" they heard Dean say from behind them. Castiel and Erela spun to face the voice. Sam and Dean were walking toward them, smiling triumphantly.

"So you finished the case, I take it?" Castiel asked as Erela and Sam hugged.

"Yep. Took out a couple of shapeshifters. Pretty simple stab to the heart," Sam replied.

"Great. Cas here was just teaching me how to fly," Erela smiled.

"Yeah, I can see your wings," Sam said, stroking one. Dean nodded. Sam touched Erela's cheek and she crumpled to the ground. Dean touched Castiel's hand before the angel could react and Cas passed out too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Captured**

Erela woke up with her hands tied. Her head was throbbing. Her arms were wrapped around a rough, round pole of some sort. She didn't dare open her eyes yet because she was afraid of what she might see. The last thing she could remember was standing on that cliff with Cas. She tasted blood in her mouth and spat. Cas. Where was Cas? She opened her eyes and realized that she couldn't really see anything. The small space that she was in was gray and dimly lit by some candles.

"Cas! Cas? Castiel?" Erela called hoarsely.

"Erela? Is that you?" Cas replied. He sounded like he was off to her right. His back might have been facing her because he couldn't see her either.

"Yeah, it's me. Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Cas, I'm scared," Erela admitted.

"You should be," a familiar voice said.

"Sam?" Erela and Cas asked at the same time. Sam stepped out of the shadows and walked up to Erela. Something was very wrong about him.

"You're not Sam," she growled. "This is all wrong." She extended her wings and wrapped them around herself as some sort of protection from the evil thing that was walking towards her. Although they were invisible to the thing standing in front if her, it made her feel a bit safer. Not-Sam crouched down and cupped her face in his hands. Erela wouldn't meet his eyes. "Get away from me," she hissed.

"No," not-Sam replied, kissing her roughly, almost painfully. Erela didn't kiss back and not-Sam slapped her across the face so hard that she tasted blood in her mouth again. She spat it right in his face and he grabbed her by the throat. She kicked at him, choking. Her wings flailed, but he couldn't see them or feel them.

"Now now, Sammy. We can't kill her yet," Erela heard a voice say as her vision started to get black around the edges. It sounded like Dean. "We still have things to learn from her. From both of them."

"Something is very wrong here." Cas said as not-Sam let go of Erela's neck. She wheezed and coughed as not-Sam laughed.

The torture started not long after that. Not-Sam only ever tortured Erela and not-Dean only ever tortured Cas because they knew it would bother them the most. They would cut their captives with various knives and burn them with red hot pokers until they passed out, either from pain or blood loss. Castiel and Erela learned quickly that they shouldn't heal themselves because the faster they healed, the sooner more pain would come. They also learned not to show their captors their wings because they would cut those too and rip out feathers.

Erela was awakened from passing out by the sound of Cas screaming. As she came to her senses, she smelled burning flesh. She whipped her head around and tried to scoot around the pole to see what was going on. As she turned around, the rough pole ripped against her skin, but she could see what was going on. The second she realized what was happening to Cas, Erela wished that she hadn't been so curious. Not-Dean was slowly dripping burning holy oil onto Cas. It seared where it touched him and the angel cried out in pain, swearing in Enochian. The smell of burning flesh caused Erela to retch and she turned her head to vomit. When she turned back, not-Sam was crouched down next to her.

"What do you want from us?" she asked, her voice gravelly.

"We want information. About the seals," he replied, lightly tracing a knife over the contours of her neck.

"What? What trials?" Erela cringed when Cas cried out again. "I don't know anything about any trials."

"I don't believe you," not-Sam growled, slicing the knife into the skin where Erela's neck met her shoulder. She flinched away from the pain and hissed through her teeth as she felt the blood begin to trickle down her collarbone and catch on her shirt.

"Your friend over there isn't being too helpful, girlie. He's passed out," not-Dean said, walking over from Cas' side of the room, still holding the bottle of holy oil and a lighter. "Now I don't quite know what you are, but you're not an angel. Not completely. But you're not a Nephilim either. And you have wings." Not-Dean plucked a few feathers from Erela's invisible wings, as if he could see them. She cringed every time he pulled out a feather.

Castiel awoke from a pain-induced blackout, and heard Erela screaming and crying and swearing louder than ever before. Cas heard a sawing sound and felt his stomach drop. He felt Erela's grace slowly leaking from her body and into the small room. The sawing noise stopped after a while and then resumed again. Erela's cries were much more muffled now. Cas assumed that something had been stuffed into her mouth to stifle her cries. The sawing stopped again, after how long, Castiel did not know. Not-Sam pulled the gag out of Erela's mouth and let her whimper, laying there in the middle of the floor. He gathered up his supplies and the things he took from her and left her there, crying and shaking.

"Cas," Erela said after what seemed like an eternity. He could tell from her voice that she was still crying.

"Yes?" he said gently.

"Cas, they... He... He cut off my wings." Erela started crying even harder. Her spine hurt where not-Sam had been kneeling on it and the stumps of her wings felt like they were on fire. She felt the blood soaking the back of her shirt and felt her grace leaking out of her, but Erela couldn't care less.

Cas couldn't respond. He couldn't form a coherent thought. He felt like he was going to vomit. He vaguely heard Erela say something about wrapping her wings around her and sleep and manifesting, but he was too engrossed in his own thoughts. How could they do that to her? She was practically human. He vowed not to let not-Dean see his wings again. He was pretty sure he would be able to grow them back, but he wasn't so sure about Erela.

"If your blood is flowing out of you as fast as your grace, you're going to need help staying alive," Cas said. Erela just groaned. Even if she could have moved, she didn't want to. She just wanted to give up, but Cas wouldn't let her. He tried to use his grace to push some of Erela's grace back into her to heal her, but to no avail. She felt him trying and pushed back with the little energy she had left.

"Just let me die, Cas. I don't care anymore. I'd rather die than be here," Erela replied weakly. "Everything hurts. Everything hurts so much. I just don't want to be in pain anymore."

"Shh. Shhh. I know. But it'll be okay. Our Sam and Dean will come rescue us. Just you wait," Castiel promised.

"Look at you, always the optimist," not-Dean taunted. "Even when your friend is lying there, helpless and dying." He walked over to Erela and kicked her in the stomach. She merely grunted to appease him. It was nothing compared to the pain of having her wings sawed off.

"What do you want from us?" Castiel demanded.

"Toys," not-Dean replied, walking back over to Cas. "Playthings." Cas saw a knife glint in the man's hand. Not-Dean stood over the angel and looked longingly at the knife. He then crouched down, and pulled the knife through the flesh on the angel's stomach. Castiel flinched and looked down. The wound was pretty deep and bleeding rather profusely. Not-Dean continued cutting away at Cas. Suddenly, not-Dean grabbed at Cas' invisible wings that were tucked behind his back. Not-Dean grabbed a handful of feathers and skin and yanked, causing Castiel to scream. Erela flinched weakly at the sound. Cas' screams were half in his real voice and they hurt the human ear. Not-Dean flinched away from the noise and then ran upstairs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Rescue**

"Dean, shhh," Sam said, turning off the radio. He heard a faint, feminine scream. Dean heard it too. They had had the windows down in the Impala because they were searching for their friends and the shapeshifters. The brothers looked at each other and Dean pointed the Impala in the direction of the sound, a dirt road coming up on their right, and drove slowly, listening. At the end of the dirt road was a house and a barn. The screaming had stopped a while ago and now they just needed to wait. Suddenly, a much louder and much more piercing scream hit their ears and threatened to break the glass in the car. The radio turned on, tuned to static.

"Cas," Dean said, horrified. They both jumped out of the car and ran to the trunk, each grabbing a gun loaded with silver bullets, some salt, holy water, and a knife. They burst through the door of the house to find mirror images of themselves staring back at them.

"Take your doppelgänger," Sam said to Dean who nodded.

The 'doppelgängers' were shapeshifters who were possessed. They were the shapeshifters that the brothers had been chasing, but somewhere between upstate New York and Fall River, they had been possessed. That was a new one for both Sam and Dean. They quickly killed the demons and, in the process, killed the shapeshifters. They knew they didn't have to kill the shapeshifters, but were so angry that they didn't care. They ran into the basement and turned on the light. The sight that they saw was enough to make any normal person sick to their stomach. Castiel was tied up, sitting, to a pole closest to the basement stairs. There were black feathers and bits of bloody skin around him and he appeared to be unconscious. His usually white shirt was crimson, not to mention burned in several places and practically shredded. Dean walked over to Cas and the angel growled, a low warning sound.

"Cas, it's me," Dean pleaded. "Look, I know you don't trust me and you have no reason to. Just-"

"Shit," Sam gasped, running over to Erela. Her back was covered in blood and the pool of blood that she was laying in was disconcertingly large. However, Sam couldn't figure out where the blood had come from. Not-Sam had cut her wings so close to her back that, in all that blood and ripped fabric, he probably wouldn't even have seen the stumps if they were visible to the mortal eye. Sam pressed his fingers to her neck and felt a faint pulse. She was also breathing slightly and shaking. She wasn't conscious, at least not until Sam tried to pick her up and she yelped and curled into herself.

"Erela, it's me," Sam said gently. She groaned weakly and curled into a tighter ball, keeping her eyes closed. Sam noticed fresh tears running down her face. "Look, I know you don't trust me, but it really is me."

"Don't hurt me anymore," Erela pleaded, focusing only on the pain and not on what Sam had been saying.

"Don't worry, Erela. It really is them," Castiel said gently. Dean had finally gotten through to him and untied him. "I sent Dean upstairs to find your..." he trailed off, seeing that Erela was shaking again. He put his fingers to her forehead and made her sleep.

Sam turned to Cas. "What did they do to her? Why is there so much blood?"

"They cut off her wings," Cas explained simply as Sam untied her. "Go and bring her to the car. I have one thing to do down here first." Sam picked the girl up and brought her up the stairs. Castiel knew Sam couldn't always see Erela's wings unless she wanted him to. The angel felt that that was a good thing at the moment because the stumps where her wings had been were quite grotesque. Cas picked up a clean jar off of one of the shelves and gathered Erela's spilt grace into the jar. He capped it and limped up the stairs to follow the Winchesters.

When Castiel got out to the car, he found Sam and Dean sitting in the front seat, silent and in shock. Erela was lying across the backseat, on her side. Dean had found her wings in a walk-in freezer, and, not knowing what to do with them, had slid them next to her on the seat. Cas picked up the silver wings gently and sat down in the backseat. He placed the wings on his lap and noticed, numbly that they were cold. Dean started driving and Cas got to work on reattaching Erela's wings. If he was lucky, the blood vessels and nerves wouldn't be dead yet. He gently rolled Erela onto her stomach and lifted up the back of her shirt. Cas lined her right wing up with the bloody stump on her shoulder blade. He placed his hand on her back and pushed some of his grace into her, despite how much it hurt him to do so. He started knitting blood vessels, tendons, and nerves back together and prayed to his siblings that he needed a miracle. Suddenly, he felt a faint swirling of energy and a faint heartbeat in Erela's wing. Her wings were much more corporeal than his could ever be, at least in this form. His wings didn't have a heartbeat when he was in a vessel; they were pure energy.

Castiel made quick work of reattaching Erela's left wing and was finished before they got back to her house. He carried her up to her room and laid her on her bed for the second time in a week. He made sure that she was comfortable and there was no pressure on her wings. He now set to the task of putting her grace back into her so that she could heal herself because he was feeling weaker and weaker every second. He pushed it back into her body by her mouth, like one would do with a soul. She groaned when he did and her wings twitched. Castiel stroked her hair and went downstairs.

As he entered the living room, Sam and Dean were watching him.

"She should be fine," he said, leaning against the nearest wall due to his sudden inability to stand. "Her wings are reattached and moving and her grace is back in her. I healed most of her physical wounds, but her mental ones… She's broken. It's going to take her a while to get back to normal." He tried to walk to the couch, but his legs gave out and Dean caught him and led him the rest of the way to the couch. When Cas sat down, Dean sat down next to him and put his arm around the angel's shoulders. Cas tried to pull away from Dean's grasp, but then remembered where he was and that he was safe and he relaxed. Castiel just sighed, releasing all of the pain and the stress of the last few days. Or was it hours? Or weeks?

"How long were we gone?" Cas asked no one in particular.

"About three days," Sam replied.

"It felt much longer than that," Cas mumbled.

"What exactly did they do to you?" Dean asked, looking into Castiel's eyes. Cas looked away.

"They cut us and burned us until we blacked out." He shivered at the memory and Dean pulled him closer. Cas flinched away slightly and then sighed. "I don't know why they didn't cut off my wings. I can grow them back. I don't think Erela can. She was screaming, Dean," Cas muttered. "I've heard suffering before. Even a million souls crying out at once sounds less jarring than that. I screamed when you... Not you pulled out a few feathers and burned me with holy fire. I can only imagine..." He trailed off, staring at his reflection in the black T.V.

"Sammy, why don't you go get some sleep? There's not much we can do now," Dean reasoned, noticing that his brother was practically falling asleep leaning against the wall. Neither of them had slept since Cas and Erela had disappeared. Sam just nodded and headed upstairs. "Cas, I'm gonna stay down here with you tonight," Dean said, stroking Castiel's hair. The angel simply nodded, too exhausted to respond. It didn't take him long to pass out due to sheer exhaustion and, when he did, Dean laid down on the couch and put Cas' head on his chest. Dean thought that angels didn't need sleep, but he figured that after the ordeal that Cas had just gone through, anyone would need to rest. Dean soon fell asleep as well.


	10. Chapter 10

**Healing**

Erela's physical wounds healed slowly over the next few days and she was getting stronger with each passing hour. She went from being able to twitch her wings to being able to move the joints over the course of a day and a half. Where Cas reattached them was still remarkably tender and sore after a week.

Erela's mental wounds, on the other hand healed much slower. Everyone knew that she wasn't getting enough sleep because she would come downstairs every morning with dark bags under her eyes and tear-stained cheeks and they all heard her screaming in her sleep at least once every night. Cas sat by her bed all night and watched her and calmed her down if needed. It took Erela about a week to stop flinching every time Sam and Dean touched her or said something too loudly. She still wouldn't talk to anyone but Cas, and even then she didn't talk much. She mostly sat in her room or on the stairs or curled up in the recliner all day. She wouldn't eat or drink much either. She was improving, though. Every day she would talk to Sam and Dean a bit more and eat a bit more.

After a while, Sam and Dean got another case in the area, but they refused to leave. Cas finally convinced them, arguing that Erela might heal faster if they weren't around. Eventually they agreed and left.

Erela woke up the day they left and walked downstairs, wondering why it was so quiet. She saw Cas sitting on the couch and sat down beside him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. She shrugged in response. "Sam and Dean are out on a case." Erela nodded. Cas noticed that she had her wings wrapped around herself, as she usually did, but when he said that Sam and Dean weren't there, she relaxed and loosened them a little.

"I… I'm broken," Erela said after a while. Her voice came out as a raspy whisper and a tear slid down her cheek. Cas wrapped his black wing around Erela and pulled her close, wiping away the tear with his thumb.

"You'll be better soon. I promise. It's a long road, but you're working on it. What those demons did to us was horrible, but you need to remember that it wasn't our Sam and Dean," Castiel told her.

"But, I can't! The… _thing_ that was pretending to be Sam… He cut off my wings! Every time I look at Sam, I remember that and shut down!" Erela shouted, frustrated. She dropped her head into her hands.

"You know what?" Castiel stood up suddenly, turning to Erela. "Let's do something fun. Do you want to go flying?" Erela shrugged and sat there with her head in her hands until Castiel pulled her up.

"What Cas?" Erela groaned at him, meeting his bright blue eyes with a dagger-like stare.

"We're going out. Flying. It will make you feel better," Cas said sternly, as if he was talking to a child.

"Fine. Let me get dressed first," Erela growled and stormed up the stairs. She wasn't mad at Cas. She wanted to go flying, but she didn't want to leave the safety of the house. The idea of leaving scared her and that made her angry at how weak she had become over the course of three days. Erela threw on clothes and ran back downstairs.

"You ready?" Cas asked.

"Let's go," Erela replied, suddenly eager. They went outside and opened their wings and took off. It hurt Erela's wings to fly for too long, so after a short amount of time, they stopped and landed in the State Park.

"That felt great. This was a good idea, Cas," Erela said as they began walking through the forest.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Castiel replied. "Sam is worried about you. We all are worried about you."

"Thanks. This is tough for me though. I'm still trying to find a way to differentiate between Sam and that other thing in my head. It's hard. It's so hard."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chit-chat**

"So what the hell is a 'puckwudgie' again?" Dean asked. He and Sam were walking through the woods of the Freetown Fall River State Forest, looking for any signs of a puckwudgie that had been terrorizing a local family. Sam pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

"It's a being from Wampanoag mythology. They're usually 2-3 feet tall and look troll-like. They're tricksters and they use spirits called Tei-Pai-Wankas to lure humans to their death," Sam explained.

"Well great. How do we kill them?"

"Um. Well, we can't. We shouldn't. It says here that we should give them an offering of something natural. Like a tree or a berry bush or something."

"Then what the hell are we doing out here?" Dean asked, obviously miffed.

"We're trying to see if the claims are true," Sam replied, always the patient one. Dean snorted.

"Of course they're true. We wouldn't be running around in the middle of the woods if they weren't true," Dean grumbled. They walked on a little longer without saying anything.

"Sooo…" Sam mumbled suddenly. "What's going on with you and Cas?" Dean tripped over a root in surprise.

"Well… I… Uh… I… Um…" Dean sputtered, trying to find words. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, regaining his composure. "We're… Involved. Romantically."

"So, are you… Bi?" Sam asked.

"I don't… I don't know. I don't think… I think it's just him. I think it's just Cas," Dean explained.

"Well you know I'll always support you, right?"

"Yeah, I know, Sammy." Dean turned his head to the left suddenly, scanning the landscape. "Now stow the chick flick crap. I heard something over here." The brothers slowly, quietly walked over to where they heard the noise and bumped into Cas.

"Hello Dean. Sam," Castiel said. He turned his head back and called into the woods. "Erela, it's just Sam and Dean."

"Hi guys," Erela replied, landing next to Cas. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"We're hunting Puckwudgies. But I was just about to ask you the same thing," Dean answered.

"I thought it would be good for Erela to get out of the house,"Castiel explained.

"If we split up into teams of two, we might find those Puckwudgies faster," Erela said, speaking her thoughts.

"Sure," Sam replied. They split up; Sam and Erela on one team and Dean and Cas on the other and went their separate ways in the woods.


	12. Chapter 12

**Possessed**

"Erela! Stop!" Sam shouted. Dean and Cas came running over to them and were confused by what they saw. Erela had Sam pinned to a tree, holding him by his neck. Her wings were wrapped around them, shielding them from view.

"What are you doing?" Dean demanded, stepping toward Erela and Sam.

"Dean, wait. Something is wrong," Castiel warned as Dean went to grab Erela's free arm. She turned to look at the angel with an evil smirk that did not belong to her.

"Look at you. You think you're so smart," Erela sneered.

"Erela… What…?" Dean said.

"Oh, shut up Dean," Erela replied, flicking her hand and sending him flying against a tree.

"Dean!" Sam choked. Erela turned to face him again and her eyes were pitch black. Suddenly she let Sam go and fell to her knees, choking and coughing, and she wrapped her wings around herself.

"Sam. Help me. I'm fighting it," Erela pleaded.

"Yeah, sure," Dean replied, doubtful. Erela looked up at Sam with fear in her eyes.

"Agh! Dammit!" she shouted, gripping her chest. Sam helped her into a standing position and leaned her against a tree.

"We have to get this demon out of you," Sam told her.

"No. Sam, you can't. You can't. It's intertwined with my grace and my soul. Pulling the demon out might kill me. It's ripping me apart as is," Erela explained.

"But, I don't- There has to be another way," Sam tried.

"Sam, she's right. You have to use the knife. She'll die either way and that way is just easier on her. I'm sorry," Castiel said gently.

"Sam… Please… Just make this stop," Erela begged. She was crying. "It's getting harder and harder to hold on to it and I don't want it to hurt you. It wants to do terrible things to all of you." Sam walked over to Dean and took Ruby's knife from him. He then walked back over to Erela and held her close.

"I'm sorry, Erela. I really am," Sam told her. He was crying too. He tilted her chin up and kissed her. Erela kissed back. Sam took a deep breath and plunged the knife into her back, up to the hilt. Erela gasped and made a strangled cry as the demon inside her died and so did she. Her wings twitched one last time, then her body went limp and slumped against Sam.


	13. Chapter 13

**A Ghostly Angel**

Erela's spirit lifted out of her body and she watched the scene around her. Sam was holding her body, crying. Dean's eyes were teary and swollen as he watched his brother. Castiel had his hand on Dean's back, comforting him, but he was staring at Erela's spirit.

"Can you see me, Cas?" she asked. He nodded. Erela walked over to Sam and put her hand on his shoulder and he jumped slightly and looked around. She looked questioningly at Cas who just shrugged. Sam pulled out the knife and laid her body on the ground softly. He wiped his eyes and looked at Erela's bracelet.

"Yes, Sam. Please keep that," she told him, even though he couldn't hear her. He pulled the bracelet gently off her wrist and plucked a long feather out of one of her wings and then turned to Dean.

"So, what are we going to do with her, Dean?" Sam asked. "We can't just leave her here."

Castiel looked at both of the brothers and sighed. "I have to go. I'm very sorry." Erela was confused because he stayed where he was, but Sam and Dean obviously couldn't see him anymore.

"So what now, Cas? Am I just stuck wandering around as a ghost?" Erela asked. The angel shook his head.

"No, Erela. You're an angel again," Cas said. She looked at him, very confused.

"But… I'm not-" she stopped short and put her hand to her head, cringing as the memories flooded back and her ears were opened to the Host of Heaven. "Oh."

"You should go back to Heaven," Castiel told her, extending his wings and preparing to leave. Erela nodded.

"Castiel, wait," she said, grabbing his wrist. He turned to look at her and she let go of his wrist.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Thank you. For everything. For teaching me, for helping me. Even before I was human."

"Ah, so you remember that." Erela nodded, smiling. "Well you're welcome."

They both extended their wings and flew away, not knowing when they would meet again. Sam and Dean were still trying to figure out what to do with Erela's body.


End file.
